The present invention relates generally to a furnace that is utilized to heat a flow of air.
Furnaces can be used to heat a flow of air using hot gases that are the products of combustion. The air to be heated is typically drawn or blown through the furnace and over the outer surfaces of one or more heat exchangers housed within the furnace. The hot gases are routed through the internal channels of the heat exchangers, so that the desired transfer of heat from the hot gases to the air flow is achieved.
Inefficiencies in the transfer of heat between the hot gases and the air flow are known to occur as a result of a portion of the air flow bypassing the heat exchanger or heat exchangers. Such an undesirable air bypass can be exacerbated by the need to space the hot components of the heat exchangers away from the outer walls of the furnace enclosure in order to ensure that the external temperatures of the enclosure do not exceed a safe threshold, thereby creating a relatively unobstructed gap between the heat exchanger and the enclosure wall through which a portion of the air can flow. This problem has been previously addressed through the inclusion of air baffles to direct the air flow through the heat exchanger. Such solutions can cause the required size of the furnace enclosure to increase in order to accommodate the air baffles.